Got Publicity ?

Black Panther · Senior Member

Got Publicity ?

awmygawd · Guru

Black Panther wrote:

Now that Malawi is on the map ..even people in rural Alabama where people find it hard enough t o distiguish between there own family members are people distinguishing Malawi from its neighbors.....so my questions is how is Malawi capitalising on this ? what are the embassies and govt doing to paint an image of Malawi being more hten tha 'poorest county ' in Africa..are we counter - acting media with aggresive tourism.. Are we fixing our roads so that the international cameras dont just focus on pot holes ? Now that we have free publicity, shouldnt we go in to "image control" mode... The World Cup 2010 is around the corner . We just got free publicity. what are we gonna do about it ?

-- Edited by Black Panther at 06:41, 2006-10-19

It's all about positioning. Instead of worrying too much about Malawi's infrastructure for now (there isn't much that can be done about it in the short term although it remains an important long term consideration), why not make do with what MW has and gloss it up a little? Make the potholes part of ‘the adventure called Malawi'...

On the free publicity Malawi has received thanks to Madonna’s visit, I believe the mileage that can be drawn from this months news headlines alone is rather limited. However, the events of the past two weeks do open up some interesting possibilities. MW could learn how to harness the residual publicity that comes with celebrity visits and actively encourage (and manage) these visits as part of a wider strategy on tourism. Such a strategy wouldn’t have to be limited to celebrities. If you realise that what’s actually intended is to make MW holidays intrinsic to international popular culture, anything and everything with wide exposure could be used to promote Malawi. Corporate advertisers do that all the time with product placement, endorsements, joint marketing etc. All that’s needed is to find a way the same tactics could be adapted for a different type of product; a country.

I've always thought that the tourism industry could be a much more innovative and aggressive, and that it's up to them (i.e. Malawi's tourism industry) to sort themselves out. Imagine they set up a company that catered for their collective interests (marketing, research, lobbying, technology etc). The banks are exceptionally good at industry wide cooperation as evidenced by operations like as VISA, (a joint venture involving over 21,000 banks worldwide). There’s a lot that can be learned from them. Anyway, if this company existed, it could be funded through outright ownership by industry stakeholders (i.e. the hotels, travel agents, the government and even those in the FOREX business, right down to tour guides and aziboliboli), membership fees, or alternatively, it could be run as an independent company that provides support to the industry on a normal commercial basis. There are countless ways in which it could be structured and how its business could be conducted, but at the end of the day, what the industry needs is means through which it can pool its resources and develop some competitive clout, something it doesn’t have at the moment.

Black Panther · Senior Member

whereas I agree with you that the tourisim industry could be doind a lot more. We should also recognise that no industry is an island. Its hard for them to promote tourism iven what they have to work with.. no roads, good acces to hospitals in all cities etc.. As a tourist I wouldnt want to go to a country Ive never been and fall sick if I would have trouble getting around or getting to the hospital. These are details that seem little but are significant. Whilst tourists want to rough it in Malawi they dont want to die there.

The Tourism board need to put pressure on roads bord, on water supply board etc.. b/c on their own they are handi-capped. Our govt offices need to work as a unit. The tourisim board can bring 1000 tommorow, but where are they all going to stay if the hotel industrys not supported. How will they get here if there are no planes....They also cant market these items if the hotels, water supply, road, security etc.. is are not doing there part or are unreliable...

If govt want to make tourism a priority , they need to be prepared to support industires that promote, support or are reliant on tourism. Building a road shouldnt be seen a s a long term project either. It has become one b/c of mismanagement. a road can go up in a year if the funding is there. In fact it can be done in 6 months or less. WE just need to make taht road a priority.

awmygawd · Guru

You underestimate the power of the private sector. Take the concerns you mention: As a minimum, you (the holiday maker) should be able to research, plan, make payments, and sort out the majority of your travel documentation for the holiday online. It should be possible (with ease) to make arrangements for any eventualities (e.g. theft, sickness and injury) with your travel agent (through its links with a network of insurers and health service providers). Malawi is a small country. It should be possible to arrange access to a decent hospital (e.g. Mwaiwathu) from any point in the country within, say 12 to 24 hours, and a flight out of MW within 48 (for arguments sake). This wouldn't take too much effort. A well organised and motivated group of interested parties could easily set up such a network of services with minimal help from the government. It would cost a hell of a lot of money for an individual to do so alone, but an industry wide collaboration would make it achievable. Come to think about it, such a scheme could even be applied across the region (MW, Zim, Zb, Moz).

But, you are right; the tourism industry can only help itself to a point. That said, If they can show, through their own initiative, just what potential lies in Malawian tourism, developing the industry would fly to the top of Gvt's priorities and THAT'S when things would really get going.